BBC ocean series relies on murky water to prove authenticity

The production team for the new BBC nature series Blue Planet III has stated that it intentionally retained cloudier and less polished footage to verify the authenticity of the content. This decision comes as artificial intelligence tools become more prevalent in visual media. Executive producer Elizabeth White explained that the rise of AI fakery makes the team want to be even more authentic in their presentation.

The series follows Blue Planet II, which aired almost ten years ago, and the original Blue Planet broadcast 25 years prior. The new installment features more animal behavior and utilizes advanced technology, including the world's first underwater CCTV camera. The device, nicknamed the stonefish cam, was developed by the program's producer and director, Yoland Bosiger. These tools allow for the capture of detailed marine life interactions that were previously difficult to document.

In past productions, sequences containing high levels of plankton or other suspended materials in the water might have been discarded. Crews also frequently framed out boats or buoys, or rejected shots due to poor water conditions. For this series, such details are kept in the final cut. White said the team is really leaning into that authenticity and expects to use murkier, less polished imagery as AI technology grows.

Jack Bootle, the BBC's head of specialist factual commissioning, provided a specific assurance to journalists at a press screening. He stated that no generative AI was used in the series. Bootle noted that not a single frame is AI-generated, and that the footage is all real photography. He described the current period as a golden age of natural history-making, noting that the series is bursting with novel behavior.

New footage includes dolphins using sea sponges to block holes in coral and trap fish. Other scenes show a grouper communicating with another species of fish, 200,000 crabs lining up in formation to feed, and sea urchins using shells as sun hats. A penguin sequence in the series echoes a famous moment from the Planet Earth II documentary. Filming took four years across five oceans.

Series producer Lara Bickerton said the team continually innovated by building a mini-dome camera to follow an octopus and a deep-sea selfie stick. Camera operators wore leg-mounted scooters to capture immersive diving footage, while lasers were used to film deep-sea animals. The series also examines threats to the ocean, including how warmer seas are killing the sea anemones where clownfish live. White said the theme of plastics from the second series continues with stories on pollutants and forever chemicals.

Narrator David Attenborough, who is 100, was very much involved in the production and made changes to scripts. White said Attenborough remains excited when shown new footage. When asked if the BBC's 500 million pound cost-cutting drive could affect the unit's reputation, White said she could not comment but noted that the series saved money by using more local crews on location. Blue Planet III begins on BBC1 and iPlayer on Sunday 1 November.